


The Launch Trials

by Daxtious



Category: Rust (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Airplane Crashes, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - Rust, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Injury, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gun Violence, Heavy Angst, M/M, Major Character Injury, Multi, No Romance, Other, Survival, Survival Horror, Sykkuno & Corpse Focused, Sykkuno becomes a baddie, Weapons, just friendships, no romantic relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:15:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28784025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daxtious/pseuds/Daxtious
Summary: “Hey…” Sykkuno turned his head towards the sound of his friend’s voice, listening to him breathe heavily through the pain. “Sykkuno?”“Yeah?”“What happens if they don’t find us?”He blinked, not quite expecting those words to come from the other.“What are you talking about, Corpse?” He questioned nervously. “Of course they’ll find us.”A rough exhale met his ears, and he winced at the harsh way Corpse took in that breath. It was obviously getting harder for him to breathe. “I mean...w-what happens if they don’t find us in time?”____________________________Sykkuno finds out the hard way he would do anything to protect his friends.____________________________A short story inspired by the stream moment where team J10's Helicopter gets blown up while flying over Launch Site.
Relationships: Corpse Husband & Sykkuno (Video Blogging RPF), Corpse Husband (Video Blogging RPF) & Everyone, Corpse Husband/Sykkuno (Video Blogging RPF), Sykkuno (Video Blogging RPF) & Everyone
Comments: 56
Kudos: 350





	1. Crash Course

**Author's Note:**

> This was an idea that came to me and it couldn't get out of my head for some reason.
> 
> I have never done writing based off real people, and it is still something I'm not 100% comfortable doing. I also haven't really written much in like 2 years so there is getting back in that mindset too. But because this story does contain real people, there will be no romantic relationships whatsoever. All the interactions in this story are purely friendship based and how I interpret their relationships through watching their streams. 
> 
> For those that have read my stuff before, you know I am never nice to those I love the most in my stories. 
> 
> For those that haven't, well enjoy.

“Everyone ready?”

Jack’s voice met his ears from downstairs, and despite how prepared he was in terms of armor and supplies, mentally he was still unsure. 

There was only _so much_ he could mentally prepare for. 

Oil rigs were dangerous, to say to the least. Leaving the safety of their base to travel across the mountains was scary and risky. The armed guards and scientists there have killed their kind before, and it was all for a chance at the newest shipment of supplies. He knew that if they were successful the risks would pay off, but the thought of it is still scary to him. He’s lost track of the amount of oil rigs he has done with his team, and they still make him anxious.

He wasn’t a violent man.

This rough and tough lifestyle, surviving long enough to live in these wastelands, has changed a lot of people. After humanity fell years ago many resulted to violence in an effort to gain material to survive. But he still tried to stay true to his roots. He didn’t like killing, the idea of hurting someone else all for personal gain. It made him sick.

But it was how he was still here.

_Survival of the fittest,_ as they called it. Something he still had yet to get used to. 

Taking a few deep breaths, he tried to calm himself down. He knew that they would be fine, they had all done this a bunch of times. Especially since Ash picked up news that this next shipment was big. 

_Really big._

If the rumors were true they would have enough supplies, both in weaponry and in food, to last them throughout the winter. The weather was not kind to them in the cold months, and they were running out of time to gather everything they needed to comfortably tend to their whole team.

They _needed_ to do this run, weather they wanted to or not. 

  
And they _needed_ him. He knew the wiring and gear of the rig inside and out. He wouldn’t be doing any of the fighting or killing, simply laying low and getting the loot crates open while his team covered for him.

That was his job, and he was darn good at it. 

No killing, no violence, just get in and get out.

That is all.

“Sykkuno?”

A deep, gravely voice called for him from his left, and the sound startled him enough to jump in surprise. He blinked for a second, staring down at his hands that were clenched over his thighs, and quickly grabbed one of his wrists to stop them from shaking. Looking up from where he was sitting on his bed he met the warm brown eyes of his friend.

“Oh, Corpse!” He exclaimed happily, forcing down his nerves as he stood up with a smile.

Corpse eyed him wearily from the door to his room, adjusting the bandana over his nose. The silver of his rings glistened against the black curls of his hair and the dim light of the room. If he noticed the sudden change in Sykkuno’s demor, he chose not to acknowledge it. “You okay?”

“Oh,” He trailed off. “Yeah, I’m fine!

“Everyone is waiting on you, are you ready?”

Sykkuno nodded in response, standing up quickly and reaching over his chest to grab his gun that was leaning against the wall. “I’m coming, just give me a sec to grab some final things.”

“Alright, I’ll wait in the hall.”

“Sounds good, thank you!” Sykkuno watched as the younger man’s figure retreated, and with a shaky breath he put his rifle over his shoulder and went to open his chest. He felt his anxiety grow as he put a pistol and box of bullets in his bag, hoping to god he wouldn’t have to use them. After packing up some of the other things he felt would be helpful, such as syringes and bandages, he slung his bag on his back. 

Corpse, as he said, was waiting for him in the hallway of their bedroom floor. The man was casually leaning against the stone wall, fiddling with one of his knives as if it was a wooden stick. 

“Aren’t you nervous you’re gonna poke your eye out or something doing that?” 

Corpse barely flinched from him speaking, simply directing his gaze to the other man and laughing lightly. “Probably. Hasn’t happened yet though.” 

Sykkuno could only shake his head with a nervous chuckle, covering his mouth with his hand in an effort to contain his laughter. He watched as Corpse put the knife alongside his others on his belt, standing up to full height from the wall and looking at him behind his long, dark curls. “Let’s go,”

The brunette nodded, gripping the straps of his bag with an iron fist as he followed Corpse down the stairs of their base. Their boots crunched against the dirt and grass once they made it outside, the sun shining brightly and making the autumn air seem not so chilly. If it weren’t for the rest of his team waiting for them outside, the soft rustle of nature against the wind would be the only thing heard.

“Sykkuno! Corpse!” Ash called for them from where the rest were parked by the chopper, her short red hair flowing against the wind and blue eyes bright as she waved them over. “Let’s go! We wanna get back before sunset, remember!”

“Coming!” Sykkuno called, running over with Corpse beside him. “My bad, got caught up with organizing some stuff.”

“No worries!” Jack called from the pilot seat inside the chopper, a smile stretched over his face as he adjusted some settings on the control panel. “Hop in I think everyone is here.”

With a nod, Sykkuno and Corpse made their way to the back. Brodin, Rae, Tina, Ash and Bo were waiting for them in the back of the helicopter, all geared up and ready to go. 

“Here ya go, boys.” Ash handed both of them a walkie-talkie as they entered the vehicle’s platform. “You know the drill, right?”

“Always,” Corpse said casually, taking the device from the redhead and slipping it onto his belt. Sykkuno followed suit with his, making sure it was secured and the battery on it would last for the trip.

“All right!” Ludwig exclaimed from the front passenger seat, turning around so he could look at everyone. “Are we all here? Someone do a headcount!”

Rae was quick to jump on board for the roll, calling for attendance from everyone that was onboard. Sykkuno’s name was called around the same time Jack successfully got the chopper going, the propellers picking up pace and creating a strong gust of wind surrounding them. Small debris and grass made way as the vehicle became prepared for lift off.

“We’re all here!” Rae shouted after calling for Tina’s name, assuring everyone was accounted for. 

“Alright,” Jack announced, gloved hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. “Here we go everyone! Make sure you hold onto something and don’t get too close to the back!”

They all knew the rules, but with the deaths they’ve witnessed from both lack of care and recklessness still made them all feel inclined to enforce the safety rules. Sykkuno gripped onto one of the side railings, sardined tightly in the back of the chopper with Brodin to his left and Corpse to his right. He watched as they rose higher and higher into the air, their base becoming smaller as they crossed over into the warzone. 

He hated the north.

Or as everyone called it, the _Badlands_.

It was a scary place, filled with barbarians and survivors that will shoot and kill on sight for no reason. In the sanctuary of their base, they all work together and support each other. The second you enter the Badlands, it's everyone for themselves. There are no alliances in the north, no teams that agree to help each other.

Just pure bloodshed. 

It is why his team stays south unless they go on supply runs. 

“About halfway there, everyone!” Sykkuno hears Jack shout over the rumbling of engines and strong wind after a good half hour of flying. He gets a series of cheers in response, but all Sykkuno could bring himself to do is nervously smile as he looks towards his friends. Before he could look back out the window again he locked eyes with Corpse, who was staring at him intensely with a look he couldn’t quite read. 

Corpse was one of the few who was able to read Sykkuno like a book, knowing what was going on in his head and understanding when he was anxious. It was almost like a sixth sense the other man had. And yet, Corpse was always so guarded with his own emotions. Those brown eyes held so much emotion and so little at the same time, it was both frustrating and amazing.

But then again, Corpse was just interesting all around. 

They had been friends for so long, been through so much together, and despite how well Corpse could pick up on his discomfort, he could never do the same in return.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Sykkuno?” The way Corpse spoke gently to him would seem out of character to most. Such a large, rough and tough looking man with such a deep voice speaking as if he was cooing an injured animal would come off as awkward to those who don’t know him.

But Sykkuno knew him.

Sykkuno knew him so well.

And he knew that was one hundred percent in character for his friend. That he would put himself out there to help others. That his anxiety would spike just like Sykkuno’s when going on these missions. That he really is a big softie who means well.

That he is one of the many people thrown into this harsh world that don’t deserve it. 

And as Sykkuno looked into his friend's eyes, watching as the wind blew those dark curls around and the sun reflected off his pale, freckled skin. Watching the way those dark brown orbs suddenly opened up so much to him, he knew he couldn’t lie.

“I’m a little nervous,” He finally admitted to the other, hoping he spoke quietly enough so that no one else would hear.

Corpse hummed, breaking their locked gaze and looking off to the sunset. “I am too.”

That reply took Sykkuno a little by surprise. “You are?” 

Corpse simply nodded. “I always am. Every one of these we do, I don’t think I will ever _not_ be nervous.”

It was Sykkuno’s turn to stare at him, watching him closely and taking in what his friend had just told him. He knew that Corpse’s anxiety would kick in every now and then, that he would be hesitant to do some missions similar to him. But he didn’t know that both of them shared such similar feelings. 

It caused a new feeling of warmth to blossom in his chest. 

“Corpse, I-”

The helicopter shifted under their feet with a loud _bang._ The screams of his teammate’s echoed in the air as their bodies were flung all towards the left side of the chopper from the force of impact. He heard Ludwig and Jack yelling up front, both men leaning over the pilot wheel and desperately trying to take back control of the vehicle. The smell of smoke met Sykkuno’s nose before it started to suffocate them, clogging the interior of the helicopter and making it hard to see and breath. 

“What’s happening!?” Rae’s frantic voice cut through.

“I don’t know!” Jack called back. “Something’s hitting us-”

Another explosion ran through the chopper, sending most of the team to their knees with another barrel of screams. Fire bursted from the engines, and Sykkuno watched in horror as the clouds beyond the window fell out of sight. The metal under his hands and knees grew hot, the ash pushing down his nose and throat as he struggled to take in air. Another bang hit the right side of their chopper, metal and glass shattering as the cries of his friends met his ears. 

And then they were falling.

None of them could do anything to stop the crash, their helicopter starting to plummet towards the ground in a pile of metal debris and flames. His hands gripped the back of one of the pilot seats, holding on for dear life. Someone else’s hands were on him, holding onto his armor like a lifeline in an effort to stay on the chopper. He could barely hear the sound of his friends calling for each other, but he was able to make out the soreness of his throat and tightness of his lungs.

Was he screaming?

He couldn’t tell. 

All he could feel was the tears making their way down his face and the weight of whoever was holding onto him. 

_He didn’t want to die!_

_Please!_

It was only a matter of seconds before a fourth rattle to the chopper caused the grip on his body to loosen, whoever it was holding onto him letting go and being lost in the wind. Sykkuno didn’t even process the yell that left his mouth until it was too late, his grip on the leather seat falling. 

It was pointless, but he still tried. Fingers blindly reaching for air as he attempted to grip back onto the security he lost.

But it was too late.

His body felt numb, like jelly, and the blast propelled him backwards and into the air. He didn’t even have a chance to feel his body hit the ground.

Everything went dark.

* * *

_Pain._

That was all.

His entire body, every one of his limbs hurt. It felt as thought someone had carved into him with a knife, or hit him with a truck.

Or both. 

His chest screamed at him, all of his ribs creaking with each rough breath his battered body took. It seemed as though time had froze, almost as if he was in an out of body experience. He was able to hear the dizzy sound of flames in the distance, the creek of metal and the sound of flesh hitting something hard. The pure, heart wrenching scream that followed after it would forever haunt him, the absolute pain behind it rattling him to his very core. He recognized the voice, knowing someone he cared for was hurting.  
  


But he couldn’t move.

He couldn’t respond to anything around him no matter how hard he tried.

He could only hear his frantic breathing, he couldn’t even open his eyes to see where the heck he was. He was able to feel the uneven asphalt beneath his fingertips, the rough edges of his armor digging uncomfortably into his skin, the sticky heat of the setting sun cascading down onto his body.

But nothing else.

_What happened?_

He couldn’t even remember.

_“Sy-”_ A rough voice cut through his consciousness, and he couldn’t tell if his body twitched in reaction to the sound. _“are y-”_

Who is calling for him?

_“Sykku-”_

Gosh, there it was again. He could feel his fingers moving, grappling against the ground helplessly. His eyes tried desperately to open, but the rest of his body betrayed him. Something was covering his eyelids, preventing him from seeing. 

Where was it coming from?

_“Sykkuno!”_

White. 

White entered his vision, practically blinding him into squeezing his eyes close again. Air that wasn’t seeming to enter him suddenly could, and he felt the frantic beat of his heart against his bruised ribs. His eyelids, sticky with some form of substance, forced themselves to open once again.

_Blood._

That’s what was keeping his eyes closed. Blood. He must have some kind of head wound. His eyes were level with the asphalt, seeing the black ground stretched until it was stopped by a slightly risen wall of stone. His right hand was stretched out, fingers uselessly twitching against the ground. 

_“Sykkuno!”_ His eyes lazily trailed over to where the sound was coming from. His walkie-talkie was lying a few feet away from him, a little worse for wear but obviously working. _“If you can hear me say something!”_

_Ash?_

He needed to reach it. Why the heck was it so far away? Staring back down at his hand, realizing the dirt caked under his nails, as well as the blood splatter and sweat staining his skin, he realized he needed to crawl.

It took more effort than he would care to admit to clench his hand and bring it closer to his body. And he would never want to tell anyone about the cry of pain he let out as he rolled himself over onto his hands and knees.

He without a doubt broke something.

But everything hurt too much, he couldn't tell what.

With blurry eyes he stared down at his hands, watching blood drip down his nose and onto the asphalt. He used the time to catch his breath, deeply inhaling and exhaling to try and get himself together. It was the sound of Ash calling for him again through the walkie-talkie that forced him to move. 

He was practically army crawling by the time he made it to the device, and his arm was trembling as he reached out to grab it. 

_“Sykkuno, please!”_ Ash’s voice was panicking now. _“Please, answer m-”_

“I-” He broke off to cough into his sleeve, his lung protesting as he used his voice. “I’m here, Ash.”

_“Oh thank god!”_ The woman exclaimed. _“You scared the shit out of us, you weren’t responding.”_

“Well I am now,” He tried to lighten the mood, ignoring how much it hurt to talk.

_“Where are you?”_

“I’m...I’m not sure. I haven’t even managed to stand up yet to be honest, so I couldn’t tell ya.” He was able to grit out. “Are you alone?”

_“No, thankfully not. Jack, Brodin, Tina and I all found each other. Lud, Rae and Bo were also able to locate each other.”_ Ash explained, though as she continued to talk it was clear she was rather winded. 

“Are they all okay?” 

It was Ash’s turn to be rather quiet, Sykkuno was about to press her on the subject. However she beat him to it. _“No,”_

The quietness that settled across them was deadly. _“Brodin is worse for wear, and from the sounds of it so is Lud and Rae. Jack is certainly injured, but he refuses to tell me where he is hurting.”_

“What?” Sykkuno managed to get out. “Why?”

_“I-I don’t know…”_ She replied gently. _“I’ve tried to make him tell me but he won’t budge. Probably feels like he is at fault for the whole thing.”_

“It wasn’t his fault.” Sykkuno protested, horrified that Jack would even think any of this was his fault. 

None of it was anyone’s fault. 

  
_“He’s a stubborn bastard.”_ He heard Ash mumble under her breath. _“And I don’t care if he heard me say that, it’s true!”_

Normally under these circumstances Sykkuno would laugh at the colorful language, always amused that someone as sweet as Ash would talk like a sailor. But now wasn’t one of those times. _“Tina and I are trying our best, I think we are going to attempt to make our way back to camp.”_

“Ash…” He was growing more tired with each word. “What even happened?”

He could hear static and rustling over on Ash’s end, almost as if she was walking or moving something around. He couldn’t tell which. 

_“We flew over the Sam base.”_ Was her response. _“I knew we would be passing it on our way, but I had no idea they would see us as a threat.”_

“Sam?” He questioned. “What is Sam?”

Static was the only thing that met his ears. 

“Ash?”

_Nothing._

“Oh god,” Sykkuno exclaimed painfully, listening to nothing but dead radio waves and unsure what happened to his friends. At least he knew they were all alive, miraculously. Rae, Lud and Bo were together, and Ash found Tina, Brodin and Jack. Which only left him and Corpse-

Wait.

_Where was Corpse?_

Shoot, he had to find him. If none of the others located him that means he could be anywhere. 

Hopefully he was okay.

It was that thought that motivated him to move. Gripping the walkie-talkie tightly, Sykkuno lifted his free arm to latch onto one of the few wooden crates stacked against the short stone wall. Forcing himself to stand, he leaned against the storage crates to catch his breath while he looked out into the distance to see where he was.

Sykkuno could see he landed in the area of a factory, once lively with workers and equipment to produce machinery, now abandoned and left to rot. It was also at this point he realized he was on a roof of one of the buildings. He had to find a way to get down.

_Great._

With heavy breaths and wobbly legs, Sykkuno started walking the edge of buildings with hopes of finding a way down. He located his backpack and his gun, and it took more effort than normal to sling them onto his back. The newly added weight made his pace much slower, but he eventually reached the shallow wall at the edge of the structure that allowed him to get a better clearing of his location.

The landmine of metal debris, abandoned cars, and overgrown scenery did little to aid Sykkuno in picking out his location. The sun was starting to set quickly now, the broken glass of the buildings’ windows picking up hues of oranges and pinks. If it wasn’t for the ghost town atmosphere Sykunno would almost call it beautiful. As he gazed over his surroundings, something caught his eye.

At first glance it looked to be a member of Sam, or whatever the heck the group that shot him down was called. The figure stood out with their armor and clothing among the landscape, but Sykkuno quickly realized that they were on the ground. If it wasn’t for the short grass they were laying in, he never would have noticed them. For a moment, it looked as though they were sleeping. But the small streaks of red staining the grass around them wasn’t normal, nor was the battered and nearly non-existent movement of their chest. Sykkuno couldn’t make out much of the person’s appearance and clothing other than the dark hair. However, when his eyes trailed to the right of the figure, his breath literally caught in his throat.

A wolf hat.

Stained in the same blood at the figure.

It was if someone had pierced his heart with ice, the pure dread and fear that bathed his whole body was something he had never felt before. He could feel his legs moving on their own, the adrenaline kicking in as he found a ladder located on the roof that brought him into the building. The second his feet hit the ground he was running, maneuvering through rubble and over broken structures to escape the building and reach his friend.

Once he was outside the cold air hit him like some sort of whip, making it harder to breath and causing his anxiety to skyrocket. He could feel his heart racing and brain thinking a mile a minute, his concern only rising as the still figure before him remained motionless.

_“Corpse!”_

The desperation and fear behind his own voice was something he hadn’t heard before. And he barely processes the pain of his knees hitting the cracked pavement as he got down next to his friend.

His complexion was paler than normal, body limp against the ground and eyes closed. Bruises, scratches and dirt alike crossed his skin, clothes stuck to his body like a second skin from sweat and blood. Seeing the inky black curls on his friends head turn to a maroon-tinted brown, caked with so much blood that fell across his face and onto the ground made him sick. His one hand, from what Sykkuno could see, was mangled from the aftermath of breaking his fall. Something told Sykkuno that a wrist shouldn’t bend that way, and the brutal cuts made to his friend’s fingers from the rings worn made his heart ache. The thought of where else the other man was injured caused Sykkuno to nearly go into a panic.

Corpse looked like a literal corpse.   
  


“Corpse! Oh jesus,” He exclaimed, cupping a hand over his mouth to keep from screaming. “Oh god, what am I gonna do?”

Clearly the sound of his voice got through, and Sykkuno watched as his friends’ eyes painfully opened. Corpse’s eyes lacked focus, and he was looking ahead rather than at anything in particular. It was the first time he noticed the younger man must be bleeding from his mouth, for the patterned bandana covering the lower half of his face was soaked in blood. The red liquid was smeared across his cheeks and down his neck, dripping past the neckline of his shirt. The sight of it made Sykkuno literally want to throw up, tears threatening to fall as he looked back up to his friend’s face.

The tears nearly started to fall when he noticed Corpse was staring right at him, head still limp to the ground and obviously struggling to keep his eyes open. Those warm brown eyes normally so full of kindness and life were dull, clouded with nothing but delirious pain. It was obviously hard for him to be awake, but Sykkuno found his efforts to be in anything but vain.

“Corpse!” He couldn’t stop himself from cupping his friend’s face, making the younger man maintain eye contact in an effort to keep him awake. He could see Corpse struggling, the way his eyes threatened to roll back into his skull. “Oh god, stay awake, okay? I’m gonna get us out of here-”

“Sy-”

An unfamiliar sound echoed in the distance, rumbling the ground below them and causing Sykkuno to look over his shoulder. Through the streams of setting sun he could see something roll into the distance, accompanied by figures walking alongside it.

_Sam._

  
It had to be them, coming to finish the job they started. It was without a doubt they would kill both of them on site. He had to get Corpse out of here.

This was bad. 

Sykkuno just hoped that all his other teammates were far away and hadn’t gotten caught.   
  


Turning back to his friend, Sykkuno placed a hand on Corpse’s shoulder as tired brown eyes looked up to meet him. “Corpse, I’m gonna help you up. Alright?”

His friend just stared at him, those pain-filled eyes looking at him with a mix of emotions he couldn’t quite read. 

“Sykkuno-” Corpse;s voice cut off into a wet cough, blood spilling from the threads of his bandanna and causing Sykkuno to cry out. “You are gonna have to leave me.”

“What?”

“I-I...can’t get up.”

“What? Can’t get up?” Sykkuno questioned, failing to hide the panic in his voice as the sound of the armed figures in the distance got louder. They would be on them soon, he didn’t have time. “Don’t be silly Corpse! Of course you can, here I’ll help you.”

In an effort to make the lightheart of the situation, the brunette reached for Corpse’s shoulders, bracing both of his underarms to lift him.

“N-No…” Corpse’s voice had a deeper rasp to it, throat clogged by his own blood as he struggled to speak. He didn’t even have the energy to fight the other man off. “S-Sykkuno..I can’t move.”

“Corpse…” Sykkuno trailed off with concern. “You can do it! I’m not going to leave you here.”

It was at this point Corpse let out a rough, wet exhale. “Y-You have to Sykkuno.”

The brunette was quiet, the two men staring each other down. Eventually Sykkuno shook his head, adjusting his position so he could actually pick Corpse off the ground.

“You're sillier than I thought if you think I’m going to leave you here to die, Corpse.”

“Wait, Syk-”

The older man pulled Corpse off the ground before he could protest any more. A blinding, white hot pain pierced his body the exact way he feared it would, and he was unable to stop the agony-filled scream leaving his lips. The sudden noise caused Sykkuno to nearly drop him back down in shock. The squish of flesh and dripping blood rattled the air, bones scraping alongside cries from the younger man flooded Sykunno’s ears. 

_Oh jesus._

Once both weren’t lying on the ground, Corpse had all of his weight against Sykkuno, head limp against the older man’s shoulders, feet unstable and dragging against the ground in an effort to remain standing. He was no longer screaming, but the heavy way his chest rose and fell made Sykkuno dread Corpse’s body was going into shock.

Sykkuo readjusted his grip on his friend so he wouldn’t drop him, but he could feel Corpse’s blood coating his hands, dripping through his fingers and on to the ground. Corpse’s heavy breathing was right in his ear, his body threatening to fall back down to the ground if it wasn’t for Sykkuno holding him upright. 

“Corpse, what-” Sykkuno frantically looked over his friend, desperate to see what would be causing him so much pain. 

It was then he saw it.  
  


Sykkuno could literally feel the blood leaving his face.

The metal rod impaled through Corpse’s stomach left little to the imagination, blood dripping down the divots of the material and soaking the ground below their feet. The way Corpse’s flesh twisted around the pole made it seem dangerously embedded. 

The armor chestplace Corpse wore did nothing to protect his belly as it was shredded into pieces, flooded with red and creating a mess. Shards of it cut into his flesh to create a breeding ground for infection, surrounding the central wound and increasing the levels of irritation and pain. There was more of his friend’s blood on the ground than in his body. Sykkuno felt like he was gonna throw up. 

But he didn’t have time to do that. He needed to help his friend. He needed to find them temporary shelter so he could try and stop the bleeding. It was around this time he realized Corpse was motionless against him.

“Corpse?”

No response.   
  


“Corpse!?” 

He gave his friend a small shake, hoping the younger man would at least open his eyes.

_Nothing._

Corpse had fallen unconscious, head tipped forward against his chest and body unmoving.

_Shoot._

By now he could make out how many individuals were approaching, and they would clearly be outnumbered even with their full team. He could see the shape of the vehicle alongside them as well, the metal of a tank clear within his sights. It was obvious they landed right in their territory.

They wouldn’t survive that. No way.

Sykkuno wasn’t a fighter, he wouldn't be able to fend them off if he tried. 

He needs to find a spot for them to hide.

And _fast._

With a new pump of adrenaline he didn’t know he had, he lifted Corpse’s arm over his shoulder and wrapped his other arm around the younger man’s back. They were roughly the same height, but Corpse was bulkier in comparison to his more slender frame. As a result, it made carrying all of his friend’s weight much more difficult, but if it got them to safety it was worth it. 

He was practically dragging both of them into the closest industrial building, through the back door and over a pile of debris making it harder to access. He was cautious of moving his friend’s injured body, and he hoped his selected hiding spot would be enough cover for the time being. Broken glass crunched under Sykkuno’s boots as he entered the building. 

There wasn’t much inside, just abandoned machine equipment overgrown with shrubbery and caked with rust. Most of the industrial bars and beams stretched over the ceilings and windows were broken from their places, scattered alongside extra debris and garbage covering the ground. There was an open corner on the far left side of the building that was shielded by some barrels. He made his way over to said corner, settling down so he could finally catch his breath. He kept Corpse’s still body close to his own, keeping his head and torso cradled in a way that prevented the pole on his abdomen from being disrupted. He still grimined at the sight of it.

He just had to lay low until he could get in touch with his team again.

_No problem._

Talk about a _shitshow_. He couldn’t believe this had happened. 

_How had this happened._

_How could this have gone wrong?_

He looked down at his friend’s still face, watching the battered way air entered and left his lips, worried that his next breath would be his last. With a shaky breath Sykkuno laid his head down against Corpse’s dark curly hair, ignoring the way blood got on his face in the process. 

Sykkuno finally allowed himself to sit down against the wall, huddled in the corner with Corpse held tightly to his chest. He felt empty as he stared off into the distance, listening to the fainted screaming and gunshots of the Sam soldiers outside.

How was he going to get out of this?

He honestly didn’t know. 

That answer caused a feeling of ultimate dread to settle in him. 

_He didn’t know._

One it hit him, Sykkuno couldn’t help but let the overwhelming sense of hopeless sink into his bones.

And for the first time in a long, long time, Sykkuno allowed himself to cry.


	2. Unwanted Target

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the positive feedback on the last chapter! I know a lot of popular work in this fandom is light-hearted and fluffy so I was unsure how this would do given it is a little on the darker side. But I am really happy to know some are at least enjoying it!
> 
> Also thank you to all of those that have complimented my writing, it really means a lot to me. :3 
> 
> It also motivated me to really push and get this chapter out today. Chapter 3, will probably be out not as quickly though. (just to let ya'll know.)
> 
> Anyways, enjoy! :)

Medicine was never Sykkuno’s strong suit. 

He remembered in his younger years, when this lifestyle first started, sitting besides Rae and learning from her how to tend to injuries.

_ Gentle fingers gripped Jack’s arm, the touch turning hesitant as blue eyes squeezed shut from a stinging pain.  _

_ “Sorry,” Rae whispered, dark eyes filled with sorrow as she turned her teammate’s arm over to see the extent of his wound. “I just need to see where to apply pressure.” _

_ Jack fought through the grimace to look at the woman, stray strands of his dark brown hair falling over his face from where it fell out of its bun. “It’s okay, Rae. I deserve it.” _

_ At those words the fillipino looked up at him, expression hardened. “No. You don’t.” _

_ Her voice was firm, with no room to argue. _

_ Jack remained silent, simple watching as she tended to the wound on his arm. The man had gone out on a run with some of the others and they encountered a bear, and despite them all coming out alive, it wasn’t without some scratches. Clearly Jack took a strong hit in an attempt to block a hit. Rae now had to patch up the result of the collision. _

_ Sykkuno had asked if Rae could give him some basic one-on-one training on how to tend to wounds. He hadn’t had to do it before, but watching the way the woman applied a disinfectant on it, followed by a homemade healing salve and wrap it skillfully, made it look much easier than it probably was.  _

_ “You will have to make due with what is on you if something happens outside of camp.” Rae explained, securing the bandage with a knot and making sure it would stay wrapped around Jack’s arm. “Use whatever you can to apply pressure on the wound so it stops the bleeding.” _

_ Rae’s focus went from her work to Sykkuno, looking at him with a tone more serious than he was used to. _

_ “Remember, Sykkuno.” Her voice was filled with something equivalent to serious concern. “If you are in a dire situation, you don’t need to miraculously heal them. You need to just keep them alive until help comes.” _

And that is exactly what he was going to try and do. 

Wiping his cheeks clear from the unwanted tears, he shook himself back into focus. 

His friend needed him.

Bringing himself up to his knees and making sure Corpse was leveled properly on the ground, Sykkuno moved to take his jacket off. Flicking his knife off his belt, he went to work cutting it into strips to use for bandages, hands shaking and movement unsteady as he worked piece by piece. It didn’t take long for him to realize the building he chose to take cover in was quite hot, the heat making it hard for him to breathe. He must have taken off his bandana and hat halfway through the process of cutting up his jacket, but by the end he had enough strips to tend to his friend.

Speaking of Corpse, Sykkuno heard the weakest of groans, and turned his attention to the younger man. “Corpse! Oh my god I’m so sorry!”

He didn’t get a response, only watching the way his friend struggled to breath. His eyes were trying to keep focus.

But he was too far out of it.

“Jesus,” His voice was not hiding any sense of panic he felt. With little hesitancy, Sykkuno reached out to grab Corpse’s uninjured hand. He couldn’t help the sense of sadness he felt with how limp his friend’s hand was, no resistance as he lifted it off the ground. “Corpse, if you can understand me give my hand a squeeze.”

The younger man’s fingers didn't do little more than twitch, almost as if he was trying but couldn’t succeed. Eventually, he felt it. 

It was tiny, and barely noticeable. 

But it was there.

A small, weak squeeze of Corpse’s hand against his own let Sykkuno know his friend was still with him. He could understand him and was able to take in what was happening.

As well as all the shock and pain his body was going through.

The thought of it sent a spike of anguish through Sykkuno’s heart, but he needed to tend to the wound. He needed Corpse to be here.

He couldn’t do this alone.

“Oh, thank god.” He let out, holding his friend’s hand close to his face. “I’m going to try and stop the bleeding. It’s gonna hurt but you have to trust me, okay?”

Another squeeze of his hand.

Sykkuno felt like crying all over again.

He gently put his friend’s hand down, trying to ignore the limp way it fell against the pavement. The first thing he went to do was remove the bandana covering the lower half of Corpse’s face. He grimaced at the sticky strings of blood that peeled away alongside the fabric, throwing it off to the side with a wet  _ plop _ . 

Taking one of the cut strips of his jacket, Sykkuno gently wiped as much of the blood as he could off of Corpse’s face. He caught anything else the younger man spat up, cleaning his stained skin and replacing Corpse’s soiled bandana with his own. It lacked the purple pattern of two rows of gnarly monster teeth, but his would have to do until they could clean it. 

Once that was done, Sykkuno had to move onto the pole. It still glistened with blood, but it looked as though it slid further out of Corpse’s body once Sykkuno laid him down on the ground. 

He couldn’t tell if that was a good or bad thing.

But what he  _ could _ tell, was that it would be a bad idea if he was to remove the pole completely. That would just be asking for Corpse to bleed out. He knew, as painful as it would seem, that it had to stay. He would need to wrap the cloth around the pole in an effort to stop the bleeding.

So that’s exactly what he did.

Gently peeling up Corpse’s shirt to expose the extent of the injury, Sykkuno started to wrap. It wasn’t pretty, nor perfect. But he was successful in wrapping the fabric around the wound and put enough pressure on it that it didn’t seem to be too dangerous. Corpse was good the entire time, patient and letting Sykkuno work despite the obvious pain he was in. The older man would profusely apologize every time Corpse let out a grunt or wheeze, but in the end Sykkuno was able to patch the other up to the best of his ability.

“Alright, I think that should be okay for now.” Sykkuno explained. “Hopefully the others will get in touch with us soon.” 

“I-” The way Corpse struggled to speak was enough to shock Sykkuno into looking at him. “It’s okay Sykkuno...you-you’ve done more than enough.”

“Don’t speak, don’t speak Corpse.” The other man insisted. “Just save your energy.”

Corpse didn’t respond, he simply closed his eyes and nodded. He rested his head against the ground, simply making sure to catch his breath as Sykkuno put away the leftover supplies in his bag.

“It’s getting cold,” Sykkuno explained as he put his bag over his shoulders, and Corpse gave a weak hum in reply. “I’m going to look around and try to find some wood to burn for a fire.”

From what Sykkuno could tell, Corpse couldn’t even bring himself to nod again. He would make sure to not travel far from him, however. Just within this building he could see some wood that was usable. 

Get in and get out.

That’s what he is good at.

Easy enough.

* * *

The fire wasn’t very big, but it seemed to be providing a decent amount of warmth for them both. Sykkuno remained low and crotched, occasionally poking the fire with his stick or adding another piece of wood to keep it going.

He made sure to not travel far when collecting, keeping in the building and gathering from areas that wouldn’t draw attention or make loud noises. When he made it back to Corpse the other man had his eyes closed, and Sykkuno frantically shaked him into opening his eyes again.

“You can’t close them.” He insisted.

“I know,” The younger man blinked slowly, inky black curls lost in the darkness aside from the small light of the fire. “I’m just so tired.”

“I know Corpse, but you have to keep your eyes open for me.” 

Corpse directed his gaze to the other. “...Okay.”

They fell into a comfortable but deadly silence after, Corpse lying against the ground with his head pillowed by one of their backpacks. Sykkuno sat close to him, the pistol he packed earlier right by his hand if he needed it.

He still really hoped he didn’t. 

It was for maybe another hour or so that they waited in the darkness, by now the sun had set and the only light provided was the fire. Cold had taken over, allowing them to see the smallest hints of their breath. He wasn’t quite sure if the soldiers were gone, or if some were still lurking through the area.

He didn’t want to find out.

And he hoped that the sudden sound of his walkie talkie going off didn’t alert anyone nearby of their presence. Corpse’s head perked ever so slightly at the sound, and he turned to look at Sykkuno as the older man reached for the communication device to speak.

Ash had reached them again, much to Sykkuno’s relief. They had made it back to camp and were regrouping before going out to look for them. Lud was insistent he could drive one of their cars, so they hoped to make it to them soon. Sykkuno was able to inform Ash on their general location, the buildings appearances and that they clearly were in an area heavily armed with Sam guards. 

The redhead was smart and knowledgeable, easily able to pick up on the general coordinates they were in. Sykkuno also informed them to bring medical supplies, that he had found Corpse and needed help as soon as possible.

_ “Hang on guys,” _ Ash’s voice was determined as she spoke.  _ “We’re coming.” _

Silence had fallen among them once she cut out. And the two men looked at each other with gazes of hope. But Corpse was soon to look crestfallen, chest moving unevenly as he directed his eyes to look at something on the ceiling.

“Hey…” Sykkuno turned his head towards the sound of his friend’s voice, listening to him breathe heavily through the pain. “Sykkuno?”

“Yeah?”

“What happens if they don’t find us?”

He blinked, not quite expecting those words to come from the others.

“What are you talking about, Corpse?” He questioned nervously. “Of course they’ll find us.”

A rough exhale met his ears, and he winced at the harsh way Corpse took in that breath. It was obviously getting harder for him to breathe. “I mean...w-what happens if they don’t find us in time?”

The weight of Corpse’s words kicked in, and Sykkuno’s eyes widened in horror at the thought. 

“No!” He was quick to shoot back. “Corpse don’t say that! We’re both gonna get out of here, ya hear me?”

Corpse just stared at him. 

“Corpse?”

“...Okay.”   
  


The sound of crunching glass startled both of them, and Sykkuno instantly turned towards the direction of the noise with a grasp on his pistol. Corpse wasn’t able to move much, but Sykkuno was able to see out of the corner of his eye the younger man tense up. 

  
“Someone’s here.” Corpse whispered.

Sykkuno nodeed, looking roughly behind one of the barrels to see a few of the Sam soldiers walking along the outside perimeter of the building. On the opposite side of the room was a series of garage doors, most fully shut. However there were a few of them still pried open, and despite being barackaged by stacks of boxes and random debris, Sykkuno was able to see the men walking back and forth. Their guns were raised, the flashlights on their weapons allowing them to see easily in the dark.

“I have to drive them away from here,” Sykkuno whispered. He slipped the extra bullets he brought into his belt, grabbing his gun off the floor and moving into a crouching position. “Corpse, stay quiet. Don’t let them see you.”

“S-Sykkuno,” Corpse rasped out, his eyes pleading and tone full of dread. “It’s too dangerous. Don’t.”

Sykkuno looked back at his friend over his shoulder. “I have to. If they find us, we are dead. If I try to lure them away at least you have a shot.”

“What-”

“Here,” Sykkuno handed Corpse the walkie-talkie, gently placing it into his heavy hand. “Use it if you need to. I’ll be back.”

“N-no! Sy-”

He was off before Corpse could say anything else.

* * *

This wouldn’t be easy.

That was something Sykkuno already knew would be the case the second he split off to advance on the soldiers. His plan wasn’t to harm or kill them.

No.

It was to create a distraction, lure them into a different area to keep them occupied long enough for the rest of his team to get here so they could make a get away.

That was the plan.

How exactly he was going to execute it and if it was going to work?

That he was unsure of.

But he was going to darn well try. Even if that meant using the last of his supplies and risk getting caught. As he ran the interior border of the building with guarded steps, he kept his gaze focused on the guards through the windows. It wasn’t until he reached the back door he had previously used to enter the building, and a chill hit his body as he successfully made it outside.

Looking around to make sure the coast was clear, he was light on his feet as he ran towards the building closest in front of him, which was located left in relation to the one they had been hiding in. It seemed as though this building was a storage tower of some sorts, constructed in a circular layout with ladders and poles stretching from the sides and used to connect to other buildings on the property. 

The running start Sykkuno had allowed him to successfully grab onto the ladder of the building, which was broken and therefore not easily accessible. With a grunt he used his arms to pull himself up, swinging one of his legs to secure onto the lowest step so he could ascend upwards. 

From there all he had to do was climb. The metal of the equipment was cold against his fingers and sunk into his bones, causing him to shiver as he finally grabbed onto the roof of the building and got himself on the top. Standing, he quickly looked around to make sure the coast was clear, gun raised and ready. 

He was thankful it was nighttime for the sole reason being he wasn’t very visible, dressed from head to toe in black and blending in with the darkness surrounding him. It also would make this easier for him to create a distraction without being spotted easily. Crouching low to the ground, Sykkuno opened his bag and pulled out what he thought he would need. Feeling around the contents of the backpack, his hands finally grasped the cold metal of the item he needed. 

There was little to no hesitation as he stood up, put his bag back on his shoulders and looked out towards the direction of the surveying Sam guards. With a flick of the tap being pulled on the weapon he threw it into the air, watching as the metal reflected off the moon light and falling towards the unsuspected enemies. 

He wasn’t able to see it hit the ground, but he could hear it. What he  _ could _ see was the half dozen or so guards turning their attention with raised weapons towards the direction it landed. There was mumbling among themselves before everything blew up with little time to react.

A loud explosion filled the alleyway between the guarded wall of the territory and the building closest to its right. A small burst of flames erupted before it was caked in smoke, fogging up the area in a wide radius and making it impossible to see. Sykkuno watched the mass of clouds spread among the enemies, listening to them shout and scream among each other in panic. It wasn’t long before the first gunshot rang out, with the lack of vision and unawareness as to what was happening causing them to fire in a panic. 

That was exactly what Sykkuno wanted.

Create chaos that was kept within the group, simply spark the conflict that was simply done towards each other than by him personally. It was sneaky and dirty but it was how he played.

Distant and laid low. 

He would have to throw another one soon, the second and last one he carried in his hand, to make sure they stayed distracted long enough. He hoped the smoke was thick enough and would last long enough for the rest of his team to get here. If the others were here they would hopefully have a chance of getting out alive.

But for now it was just him.

Corpse was the more skilled fighter out of the two of them, using brute force and shorter range weapons to get the job done.

But Sykkuno had a better aim.

And he used that skill to successfully launch the second smoke grenade into the air towards the Sam soldiers. It landed in a similar fashion to the previous one before it exploded into another smoke bomb and tainted the area in the thick fumes. He was starting to thank Jack for all the shooting lessons and Kristopher’s gun range.

He watched the chaos unfold below him, listening to the panic yells and demands from the group members. He felt it would be best to get out of the area and set up another distraction if need be. With that thought in mind he backed away from the edge of the roof and turned towards one of the bigger industrial poles used to connect the buildings. The rust felt gritty against his fingers and chilled his skin as he stepped up onto it with slightly unsteady feet. It didn’t take long before he started to walk across, picking up his pace in an effort to get farther away.

The sneakiness could only last for so long, and he knew the second a sharp sting nicked his right shoulder he was caught. The wind blowing past his ears and his frantic heart didn’t even pick up the gunshot that had gone off in his direction. The bullet got his shirt and the upper layer of his skin, and Sykkuno was quick to feel the small trail of blood from the wound soak the fabric surrounding it. 

But that was the least of his worries.

_ “The outsider!” _

Looking down below he frantically was able to see one of the soldiers, screaming and pointing in his direction. He had emerged from the smoke in a haze of black and dark blue, stumbling over his steps but otherwise unharmed.

_ “Get him!” _

“Oh, jesus.” Sykkuno mumbled to himself, turning away and quickly finishing the rest of his run to make it to the next building. If he stayed on the roof he would be caught, no questions asked.

He had to get down.

There was another ladder located on the backside of the building, thankfully out of their sights for the most part. He was only able to see the brief motion of the other guards successfully escaping the area of the smoke grenade before he reached the ladder and started making his way down.

The racing of his heart and the billions of thoughts going through his brain didn’t affect the way he reached the ground, but it did affect how fast he was to run away from the other guards as they chased him. Bullets rained in his direction, and it was beyond his knowledge how he dodged the death literally dancing around his feet. 

He felt something heavily slam into his back, the wind knocked out of him as he was sent to the ground. By the sound of breathing and rustling clothing behind him he could tell it was a soldier that had pinned him to the ground. His ribs and jaw protested as he made contact with the pavement, a short stab of pain went through his body. But it was the least of his worries as he heard the sound of a trigger, and his body went into autopilot.

He didn’t even process the way his hand pulled his knife from his belt.

Or the way he was quick to maneuver himself around in the other man’s grasp.

What he does remember, however, is the look of shock crossing the man’s face before the knife embeds itself into his neck.

Sykkuno watches the life fade from the man’s eyes, seeing them roll up into his skull and feeling the man’s blood drip from the knife down his arm. He feels the way the tendons in the man’s neck snap under his knife. He sees the soldier’s body slump down on top of him, the gun falling from his grasp. Blood spewed from the man’s mouth, foaming up the inside of his helmet and smearing on the glass.

He stares at the corpse on top of him, the shock of his actions unable to be acknowledged as a wave of screams meet his ears and bullets come firing at him. The dead body on top of him being used as a shield as he reaches for his pistol on the ground. Sykkuno moves so he could successfully keep his body guarded while aiming his gun in the direction of his attackers. With a trembling hand, he fires off his first bullet and watches as one of the men goes down with a bullet to the leg. 

The accuracy of his shots is rather impressive, and his arm is aching from the drawback of his gun.

But one by one, they fall. 

They don’t stand a chance.

The heavy hazmat suit worn by his human guardwall took all the hits for him, and when the last soldier fell he was shaking. With a grunt he rolled the dead soldier off of himself, collapsing against the ground with an arm thrown over his eyes. His chest heaved, the cold air not helping the way each painful breath entered and left his lungs.

_ What had he just done? _

A frantic, weak and scrambled gasp met his ears. Shakingly he brought himself to his feet, and it was at this point he realized it hurt to walk on his ankle. He must have messed it up during his fall.

The sight of one of the Sam soldiers still alive on the ground made him limp over in their direction. He was holding a hand to his leg, the blood seeping through his gloved hands implying that was where Sykkuno had shot him. It must've been the first soldier he had taken down.

“P-please…” The man begged, his unoccupied hand coming out to protect himself. “Don’t.”

Sykkuno hesitated, his finger on the trigger of his gun twitching. 

He processed his options. These men had shot down his team, took them from the sky with every intent to kill them all. They weren’t good people. They meant to harm. And if he let this man go, and he lived, who knows what he would do to his team. To his friends.

To his  _ family. _

“You’d just come after them.”

_ Bang! _

“I-I’m sorry…”

The man sprang back with a shot to his forehead, the glass of his suit’s helmet shattering as he fell dead against the ground. Sykkuno was able to see his face, pale green eyes staring off at nothing with a bullet of blood trailing down his face.

Those lifeless eyes would forever haunt him.

Shakingly he looked around, surrounded by the bodies of the people he killed.

He had never killed anyone before.

He never wanted to.

He was literally going to throw up.

And that is exactly what he did, with a sob he fell to his knees. A hand weakly grasping his throat as bile made its way up and onto the pavement below him. He cried as he grieved over those he killed, those whose lives he just took. The acid clogging his windpipes made him feel weak, horrid.

Like a monster.

But it was them or him.

Them or his friends.

And he did what he had to do.

_ Survival of the fittest. _

Slowly he wiped his tears, grabbing his gun from where he dropped it and standing to his feet. With a limp he made his way back to the building they made camp in, hoping that the fire was still going and Corpse was okay. In the dark he was unable to find the same door he used to enter, so instead he reached one of the garage doors pried open and crouched down to crawl through.

A sudden hand grasping his foot and pulling him back caused a scream of surprise to leave him. He felt his gun fall from his hand, and he desperately kicked back at whoever it was that had grabbed him. The unrecognizable voice and blue attire made him realize it was another one of the Sam guards, one that probably he had missed or was hiding during their earlier ordeal. 

He was pulled out from under the garage door and back into the outside, and he yelled in frustration as he delivered a hard kick to the man’s jaw. The soldier reeled back, only too quickly redeemed himself and continued pulling him away from his destination.

Before anything else could happen a gunshot ran through the air, and the sound was enough to shock him into keeping stil. He waited for the pain to come, waited for the blinding sting that would pierce him.

He waited for death.

But that never came, instead the round of bullets caused the soldier pulling on his foot to let go. The force of it sent Sykkuno forwards, allowing him to successfully crawl away and back under the garage door. Shouting bellowed in his ears, the rain of gunfire causing him to panic. 

His gun.

_ Where was his gun!? _

A flash of silver caught the corner of his vision, and he looked towards the right to see it laying on the ground. With newfound strength he crawled, desperate with an outstretched hand to reach it.

He still didn’t like killing. 

It made him sick.

But if it was to protect his friends, to keep them away from Corpse, he would do it.

He would do it all over again in a heartbeat. 

His fingers were close, ever so close to grasping around the handle of his pistol.

Only to have it kicked out from his sight and have a boot stomp down on his fingers. 

With a shout of pain he reeled his hand back, holding it close to his chest as he curled his other hand into a fist against the ground. A frustrated sound left his throat, gritting his teeth with battered breaths as he looked up at his attacker.

_ He didn’t kill them all! _

_ There were still more of them!? _

Fuck. 

His eyes narrowed, gaze hardening under his bangs as he looked up the barrel of a gun. Beyond the weapon was a man, armed in the same blue hazmat suit as the other men. The darkness and limited light from the fire made it nearly impossible to see the expression he wore, but the stiffness and strong form of his stance made it clear he was unhappy.

“You killed my friends.”

His voice was cold, unwelcoming. The sound forced a rough laugh out of Sykkuno’s throat. “Yeah well, you shot down my team’s chopper. So I guess we are even.”

Sykkuno was pretty sure if there wasn’t a helmet covering the man’s head he would have spat at him. Instead, he watched as the man brought his leg back. There was no time to prepare as the man swung his booted foot down, striking him right in the face with a force that sent him to his side. 

  
The sound of the collision echoed through the building, snapping his head in the opposite direction with a spray of blood. He wasn’t even able to make a noise of shock or pain, simply gasping for breath as he spat out red that dripped from his nose and into his mouth. 

“Cocky bastard.” The man growled, raising his gun back at Sykkuno again. “You were flying over our territory. That’s asking for death.”

“W-We didn’t know!” Sykkuno managed to spit out, voice wobbly as he looked up at the soldier. With shaking limbs he desperately tried to pull himself up. “We were o-on our way to a supply run.”

Any effort he made to get back on his feet was in vain as the man delivered another kick. He was sent sprawling back to the ground, and there was no doubt in his mind his nose was probably broken. 

“Bullshit!”

“It-it’s the truth!” He pleaded, trying hard to fight back the tears. “Y-you have to believe me!”

“Imma kill you,” The man’s voice dripped venom. “Imma deliver your head to your team. Show them what happens when you trespass onto our territory and kill our people.”

_ “Please! Don’t!” _

“Shut u-”

_ Bang! _

The man’s head snapped in a way that seemed unnatural, a large splatter of red exploded from the left side of his head. The helmet he wore became unhinged, placed awkwardly on his head. It didn’t, however, as his body fell lifeless to the floor. Sykkuno looked with wide eyes as the gun fell from the man’s grasp and the last breath left his lungs.

_ He was dead. _

“He can’t kill anyone if I beat him to it.” 

With effort he snapped his head in the direction that the sound came from, and he nearly cried at the sight of an armored woman standing at the door. Her ombre hair cascading in a long braid down her back, brown eyes dark and determined as smoke left the barrel of the gun she had aimed.

_ “R-Rae!” _

Her gaze moved around the room until she saw him, and instantly her gaze softened. “Sykkuno!”

She rushed over to him, and as she entered the room their other teammates were quick to follow. Rae made it to his side, cupping his face gently and starting to observe him for any injuries. Sykkuno could tell she was moving slower than normal, obviously worn down from her own wounds. 

But she still went on this mission to save them.

“C-Corpse…” 

Rae’s doe eyes blinked. “What?”

“C-Corpse, Rae.” He managed to grit out, the adrenalin was slowly wearing off and he needed to make sure his team found the other man. “H-he’s in bad shape.”

“Where is he, Sykkuno?”

“B-by the fire.” 

“O-okay,” She spoke calming, her hands falling away from his face so she could bring out her pack. “I’ll go tend to him in a min-”

“No!” Sykkuno got out firmly, hands clenched into fists. “Rae go to him, he needs you.”

Rae eyed him hesitantly, and watched in shock as tears bunched up into her friend’s eyes.    
  


“Please,” He pleaded with her. “Please help him Rae.”

“Syk-”

_ “He’s dying!” _

Rae stopped speaking, her face morphing into something he wasn’t quite able to read. 

_ “Please, _ Rae. _ ” _

The fillipino remained quiet, looking at him before quickly changing gears. She grabbed her pack and ran towards the fire where he told her Corpse would be. Rae was calling for Lud and Tina to accompany her around the same time Ash and Jack had entered his vision. Jack was quick to ask him if he was okay to stand, and while it was hard for him to do so, he successfully brought himself to his feet. 

Ash had collected his things and provided him with some basic medical care while the others helped Rae with Corpse. Sykkuno couldn’t even look in their direction, he didn’t want to see what was happening. He would break if he looked.

So he just didn’t.

Instead he looked into the two calm and caring pairs of blue eyes that were staring at him. Ash and Jack giving him words of praise and hugs of relief made him feel a weird sense of accomplishment and hope.

They were safe.

They found them.

As he looked at his friends, tired and bruised and broken both mentally and physically, he felt safe to collapse in their waiting arms. 

They could go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter will technically be an Epilogue, and will explore more of Corpse's POV rather and Sykkuno's. It also will be a more fluffy chapter because I am weak for angsty stories that have happy endings. :3
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Rebuild & Recover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who was patient with me and gave me time to finish this last chapter. School had started for me just after I posted chapter 2 so things got rather hectic. I managed to write when I can though, this was a fun little side project and I am happy to wrap it up! 
> 
> Note, I haven't proof read this for typos yet so if there is some my bad. I will be fixing those up within the next few days.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

There was something about dreams that scared him.

The way your body was laux and at the mercy of what was going on in your brain always seemed scary. 

It was the lack of control.

The idea of sometimes not being able to escape it is truly what’s scary.

The idea that your brain is creating something, something to torment you, yet your body refuses to be on your side and allows you to suffer.

It’s sickening. 

He hated them.

He hated the sound of his breath coming out in pained wheezes, the crumpling ash and chaos surrounding him. There was a strange feeling thoughout his body, as if he was floating, while in an immense amount of agony at the same time. The way he started to freefall was shocking, his eyes taking in the sky passing him by and the screams of those around him echoed in his ears.

Everything became blurry after that, but he won’t ever forget the blinding, white hot pain that pierced his body the second he hit the ground. The contact he made, slapping the concrete with a deafening echo, was loud in his ears. But it the way something stsrted tearing his stomach open that forced a sound to escape him.

It was so loud it sounded like white noise. 

He wasn’t even sure if his vocal cords actually produced it.

Everything fell silent after that, slowly turning into a nightmare as he gasped desperately against the floor.

_Wake me up._

_Make it stop._

Footsteps approached him, the look of absolute terror in his friend’s eyes shaking him to his core. It was obvious his state was worse than he thought if that was the expression he was receiving. 

He then was told he had to move.

No. 

_Please._

It’ll hurt.

_Don’t._

He was screaming, he could hear it. He could feel the tear in his stomach ripping and shredding into his flesh. The blood dripped into the waistband of his jeans and through his friend’s fingers. His throat became raw and his body fell slack. He couldn’t keep himself up, no matter how hard he tried, his feet fell out from under him and his head lolled back, weightless.

_Oh god._

He felt like he was going to throw up.

He was choking on his own blood, soaking through his face mask and clogging his windpipes. Air exited his lungs but couldn’t enter, making it difficult to breath.

_What was happening?_

_Make it stop!_

_Wake up!_

_Wake up!_

_Wake-_

He shot up from the bed with a startled gasp, only to quickly groan in pain and clench his abdomen.

_What?_

He blinked, his fogged vision slowly fading away and allowing him to see clearly. Looking out from under his dark curls, his eyes frantically looked around. 

_Home._

He was home.

The stone walls and wooden ceilings that have provided him and his friends protection and comfort for years. This building was constructed with sweat and tears, working together till their legs were numb and palms were bleeding. Their time spent making their sanctuary was filled with laughs and hard work and fond memories. 

Despite it taking almost a year.

It felt as though all the odds were against their favor, the world out to get them and sending them trial after trial.

But they pulled through in the end.

Now they had a stable enough base that seemed large enough to withstand a raid and strong enough that they all felt safe. The idea was obvious enough with the decor that littered the interior walls of the building. 

He was never one for decorating, but the others took to decorating his room with the old movie posters and record albums littering the walls. The skull patterned black and silver sheets were also a custom feature thanks to Ash and her great sewing skills. He liked how it matched his rings, but the thought and effort the redhead had put into making it for him really made him love it. His fingers brushed over the material, feeling the uneven stitches beneath his fingertips and noticing how it clashed against his skin and chipped black polish. 

It was also around this time he noticed he was alone, none of his friends in the room alongside him. He also heard silence in the hallway, but the faint sound of his teammates could be heard on the lower level. With that in mind he knew he needed to move, he needed to see what was going on. He pulled the sheets back from his body, and the pain causing him to ache made all the most sense.

The heavy gauze and bandages covering his torso were hard to not notice, nor was the faded sight of blood seeping through the thick fabric. It contrasted against the fairness of his pale, freckled skin and he was able to see the faint trace of scars peaking the top of the bandages over his collarbones. Smaller areas of his body were secured with gauzes, tapped haphazardly over his skin with medical tape. He also noticed the stiffness of his joints and the sling securing his left bandaged arm close to his chest.

_What the hell happened?_

If the movement it took to sit up caused that much pain, he feared what it was going to be like to stand. He took in a deep breath, gripping the headboard of his bed with white knuckles as he slowly moved his body to the side. 

The feeling of his body stretching as his legs swung off the bed caused him to grunt, the pain it created made him double over and use his unoccupied hand to clench his stomach. He needed to catch his breath before he reached forward towards the nightstand next to his bed. Squeezing his eyes tightly he exhaled, before forcing his body to stand.

The pain that hit him was so much more than he expected. 

With a cry he stumbled forward, his uninjured arm bracing himself against the wall as he practically crouched against the floor. His feet were unsteady as he regained himself. The faint feeling of his belly being ripped open came back to him, he could tell the sweat building up from his efforts caused his curls to stick to his forehead. He clasped a hand over his mouth to stop the nausea from returning.

It was the grounded feeling of the brick wall against his palm that brought him to move again. Slowly but surely he inched against the wall, slamming the button to open his room door when he reached it. The creaking sounds of chains and metal working to open his door was hollowed out by his own heavy breathing in his ears.

It took so much effort.

_Holy shit._

I’m _so_ tired.

With a snail’s pace he made it out into the hallway, nearly stumbling over his unsteady feet as he exited his room. His heavy head looked in both directions, being met with closed doors and silence. The only sounds heard was the crackling fire of the torches lighting the hall between each of their rooms. Slowly he turned to walk down the hall, and when he reached the stairs at the end he hesitated.

_Fuck._

He was full on panting now, the exertion and strain his body was going through just by simply walking was of grave concern to him. Even more so now that he realized he had to walk down the stairs to reach his friends.

If he was to fall or trip it would be over. His already screwed up body would just take more damage and who the fuck knows what else would happen to him. He doesn’t even know what happened to him, he isn’t sure what injuries he has other than where it is located.

And quite frankly that doesn’t do shit.

He held his breath and internally crossed his fingers as he lifted one leg to step down. The loose sweatpants he was wearing drowned out his feet, only his toes visible as a shaking foot successfully landed on the first step. Slowly the second leg followed, and he felt more confident to continue his decline. 

It took much longer than he would care to admit to reach the bottom of the stairs, and by the second to last step he had to bench over as he leaned against the wall for support. Sweat dripped down his brows and onto the floor, his breath coming out is ragged and short pants. He couldn’t take in enough breath, and it left him gasping.

_What the hell was happening!?_

Through his blurry vision he looked up, seeing his teammates sitting around and socializing together. He didn’t even notice their conversations had ceased once he emerged within their vision. 

“What the fuck are you doing!?”

“Holy shit!”

“Why are you out of bed!?”

“Oh my god!”

Their voices echoed in his ears, their calls for concern becoming faded in his ears as he struggled on trying to breathe. His legs started to shake and the grip he had on the wall started to fall.

Oh, _fuck._

“H-” His voice was raw, shaky and weak and not cooperating with him. “Hel-”

_This was a big mistake._

He could feel his legs give out, his voice not even allowing him to give them a warning he needed help. As soon as he started to fall his eyes rolled back, faintly seeing the frantic way his friends ran to his aid.

He couldn’t tell if it was him or his teammates screaming.

* * *

The soft crackling of the fire did little to soothe the heavy ache that rested in his bones.

He doesn’t remember much, all he could see was darkness. But he could feel the soft fabric draped over his body, keeping him warm and comforted. Something cold and damp was pressed against his forehead, cooling his sweaty skin and providing some relief from the constant pain running through his body. The sounds of gentle footsteps and whispering met his ears, but his brain might as well have been stuffed with cotton. 

He couldn’t understand a word they were saying.

Slowly he forced his eyes to open, the bright light from the nightside lamp casting a strong glow and forcing his eyes to squeeze shut again. When he finally brought himself to lift his gaze again, he could see through his blurry vision the faint outline of one of his teammates, moving around the room as if they were in search of something.

A sudden dryness in his throat caused him to cough, moving his hand from under the covers to cover his mouth. The action caused ripples of pain to wrack his body, and he let out a rough wheeze from the effort. He felt his wounded abdomen clench uncomfortably from the movement, forcing him to cradle it with his unoccupied hand.

It seemed as though the sound of his discomfort was enough to catch the attention of his teammate, their head moving into focus and allowing him to see who it was.

“Rae?” 

A smile graced the woman’s features, her eyes filled with so much agony and relief it made an uneasy feeling settle in his belly.

“Hey bud,” Her voice was so gentle, so loving, as she spoke. “How ya feeling?”

“Like I got hit by a fucking truck.”

“Yeah I believe that.” The brunette chuckled at that, nodding her head. Her expression suddenly became a lot more serious. “You gave us a real big scare.”

He licked his dry lips, blinking slowly as he looked at the concerned expression his friend wore. The haunting look in her warm brown eyes put him at unease, watching the way her hands shook as she reached up to gently dap away the sweat on his face with another damp towel.

“Rae,” His voice wasn’t obeying him, gravely and weak and forced so much energy out of him. “What happened?”

The fillipino’s actions came to a halt, her trembling hands hovering over him. The way she gently went to cup his cheek shocked him, her thumb softly brushing over his clammy, freckled skin. He looked up to meet her wild eyes, orbs filled with so many different emotions he didn’t know what to think.

“Corpse,” Her voice cracked as she called his name. “We had lost you.”

He felt as though he had been slapped.

“W-What?”

Slowly Rae’s other hand graced over his chest, fingers delicately resting over his heart and pressing the sheets flushed to his skin. Corpse noticed the blood and dirt crusted around and under her nails, and a weird wave of nausea crashed over him as he realized it was probably his own blood dried on her hands. 

“Your heart stopped.”

The proclamation stunned him into silence, eyes widening under his curls as he stared at the other. It seemed as though a brick of lead was tied to his tongue, he couldn’t speak.

“W-we lost you. _Literally_ lost you. You stopped breathing on the ride back to base. It was an honest miracle Ludwig and I were able to revive you.” 

Corpse could tell Rae was choking up as she spoke, her eyes fighting back stray tears as she looked at him. The image of his friends watching him die played through his head, imagining their pain and panic, something he never had wished they experienced. Knowing how much he loved and cared for all of his teammates, his friends, his _family_ , he would be in hysterics if he was to be in their shoes. A sick part of him was relieved he was not conscious to have witnessed the absolute panic and chaos.

“Corpse?” 

Rae’s gentle voice caused him to blink back into focus, looking up at her under his heavy lashes. He hummed back at an effort to acknowledge her voice. 

“How much do you remember?”

The question made him pause, thinking back to reel his brain about what he could recall. He remembers the previous time he woke up in his room, the miserably embarrassing attempt he made at walking down the stairs. Falling while his friends tried to reach him.

He pathetically remembers that.

But something told him that isn’t what Rae was referring too, so he tried to think back to before that. He knows his memory is shit. It always has been, but the importance of what happened was faintly engraved in his memory. 

He remembers the terrified screams as their chopper was blown from the sky.

The pain of his body hitting the ground, his stomach being impaled.

The agony eating his body as he was moved to safety.

The sounds of gunshots echoing around him while all he could do was desperately gasp on the floor with a mouthful of blood.

The sight of his friend’s crowding his vision with looks of absolute terror.

_And Sykkuno._

He remembers what Sykkuno did.

Yes.

He remembers most of it.

The memories of those past events faded in and out, but he remembers the pain burning away at his flesh and making him numb to anything else. The thought of suffering that much again terrified him, he didn’t like it. 

He never wanted to feel that way again.

_Ever._

Even after he was out of danger and tended to, sitting safely in the comfort of his bed with his friends to help him, he still was aching. His body was still recovering. Something was telling him the scars, as well as some phantom pains, would be there for the rest of his life. Eventually he looked back towards Rae, who was waiting patiently for his response.

“I remember enough.” He finally settled on.

His reply was enough to cause a frown to grace Rae’s features, and he knew many of the thoughts running through her head were similar to his own. Despite that, he knew she would try to not dwell on the painful past and instead focus on moving forward.

Instead of speaking back, Rae chose not to say anything. She simply nodded and continued to clean him up. The two of them fell into a comfortable silence, Corpse observing the brunette as she pulled his sheets back to tend to his wounds. She replaced the bandages on his smaller injuries, making sure they weren’t infected nor bleeding. It was after some hesitation she moved onto his stomach, gently tending to the wound that was causing him all the pain. She had to move him onto his side and back to reach each area and wrap the bandages on securly. The effort of moving in that way made him cry out, the agony that pierced his flesh caused him to let out painful noises that penetrated the room. 

Rae apologized profusely, a matria of pleas and sorrys escaping past her lips at the sound of his cries. Her heart ached at the way her friend’s face scrunched up in pain, listening to him wheeze and pant against the pillow as he struggled to move. She tried to make it quick, avoiding looking directly at the injury and instead working fast and efficiently. 

Once she finished patching Corpse up, she gently settled him back under his covers. Pulling the blanket up over his body and rewetting the damp towel to place on his forehead. Hot and fast breaths passed through the man’s lips, eyes closing as if he was finally happy to rest and not exert himself.

Seeing him this way felt as if someone wrapped barbed wire around her heart. 

He was like a brother to her, suffering through thick and thin together over their time surviving in this world. The absolute fear and panic she went through when his pulse went dead under her fingertips would forever haunt her. The feel of his body completely limp in her arms, his skin cold to the touch. The sight of his blood everywhere and his flesh twisted with infection. The sound of his screams and gurgling of him choking on his own blood was burned into her memory.

She never wanted to experience something like that ever again.

He was her family, they all were. 

Her hand slowly ran through his black curls, feeling the warmness of his scalp and reminding herself that he’s alive.

_He’s alive._

The reminder sent another wave of relief to settle over her, and she gently pulled the towel back to place a gentle kiss on his forehead. 

“Get some rest, Corpse.”

She pulled back, listening to the younger’s breath even out. His chest rose and fell under the sheets, his eyes finally closing so he could sleep. Quietly she picked up the extra medical supplies and water basin she used to tend to her friend. Once she gathered all the items that didn’t call Corpse’s room home, she took one last look back at the sleeping man, seeing that his face was finally lax and peaceful.

  
_He’s alive._

With a gentle smile, Rae left him be.

* * *

“I think these are finally ready to harvest!” Ash’s excited voice met his ears from the other side of the garden. “What do you think, Sykkuno?”

At the sound of his name he lifted his head, looking over to the redhead who was eager making laps between each of their planters. He abandoned the rake he was using, propping it against the garden’s wall as he clumsy made his way over. The makeshift boot he needed to wear for his ankle as well as his hand made moving a slow process, but he managed.

Finally reaching his teammate, Sykkuno looked down at the few large planters they had that were rich with well grown pumpkins. The bright orange contrasted against the dark green leaves and yellow flowers, sprouting from the dirt to settle against the surface. Sykkuno couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

“For sure Ash,” He reassured her. “I think they look good.”

The woman beamed at his response, her blue eyes sparkling as she nodded happily. “Great! I’ll go get the wheelbarrow so we can transfer them inside.”

She walked away from him towards the gate of the garden to go get the wheelbarrow, leaving Sykkuno alone once again. With a heavy sigh he turned back towards where he left off tending to the unplanted side of their garden. Part of their planters weren’t utilised yet, and they needed to get on top of growing as much food as they could before winter. He decided to take up that responsibility once he realized no one else was going to do it. 

Picking up the rake again, he went back to loosening up the dirt so he could plant the seeds. Ash leaving him alone caused his thoughts to wander, which at this point in time was a bad thing. 

He’s been trying not to think about it.

_Really_ , he hasn’t.

But it’s been super hard.

The image of him on the ground in the back of their truck, _dead_ , will surely traumatize him for the rest of his life.

It traumatized everyone. 

Their entire team was shaken, all through the journey back to their base and until it was ensured their friend would live. The horror and erie atmosphere that settled over their usually happy camp was strange and unwelcomed. Overall the demeanor between each other was different for the weeks following the heli crash, with everyone being overly cautious and even protective about any remotely dangerous activity that needed to be done. 

Leaving the walls of the base? Take someone with you. All armed.

Securing the borders? At least a group of 3. All armed.

Going on a hunt or loot run? Group of 5, no less. All armed.

The event caused a new set of rules to be put in place, overall making everyone more cautious and careful when doing anything outside of their safety wall. 

It seemed ridiculous, but they obviously needed to change some rules about how they did things. They were being too careless, too laid back. 

Too _trusting._

They needed to put their guard up, realizing that this world had hurt them too many times. J10 was known among their land to be soft, the kind and generous group known for only resorting to violence if absolutely necessary. Despite some of their members such as Ash and Rae being wildcards, and many of them willing to kill if needed, it was only something they all only did if last resort.

Himself included.

_Soft._

That was what they called them.

_J10 was soft._

They weren’t like Team Rocket, who would raid and blow up any base to gain new supplies, or Shroud’s squad in Rust Vegas who expanded to multiple areas of the map for better resources. They would take in people in need, give them what they could and send them on their way.

No questions asked.

They tried to all see the good in people, knowing that despite all they have been through in the past that those they have encountered mean well.

That time has come to an end.

Gone was the group that would accept anyone who would come stumbling to their door asking for help. Gone was the group that would team up with whoever offered. Gone was the group that approached everything with smiles and optimism. 

That group was no more.

The shock of losing one of their members hit them all like a tidal wave, and he realized that this world had bad people in it. People that will hurt others for no other reason other than personal bloodlust and gain.

He looked down at his own hands, his hand holding the rake gripping with knuckles so white he was nervous the wood would snap under his grasp. His other hand remained clenched at his side, shaking beneath his sleeve and threatening to start trembling. He slowly brought his unoccupied hand into his vision, watching his unsteady fingers flex open and closed with a lack of confidence. He noticed the dirt and sweat smeared into his skin, grim stuck under his nails and in between the threads of the hoodie he wore.

These hands were coated in blood.

Blood of one of his dear friends. 

His friend that was dying.

These hands were used to kill.

Used to pull the trigger of a gun that murdered at least half a dozen people/

His hands had done harm.

It was something he had sworn to never do. The action of taking a life is something that cannot be undone, and it was something he had never resorted to.

Because he was, as they called it, _soft_.

Was it right to use that title on him anymore? 

People finally brought out the bad in him, showing him the true dangers of this world. 

Shown him how precious, how fragile, life is.

How within a matter of seconds, things can change forever.

It only took a single action for them to nearly lose their lives. 

Hell, one of them practically _did_ lose their life. Corpse wouldn’t be here anymore if they hadn’t acted so quickly.

And the reality of that shook him to his core.

It was obvious things wouldn’t be the same anymore, that their overall functionality and approach to things would change. Their dynamics were different too, with everyone being more protective and helicopter towards one another. He was unsure if it was a bad thing, but he couldn’t say he disliked it.

“Hey!”

The sound of Ash returning snapped Sykkuno out of his thoughts, the shaking of his hands freezing in shock. He looked up at the urgency of her voice.

“ _Hey_! I said come back here!” The tone she was using would come off as angry to those unfamiliar with Ash, but Sykkuno knew it was laced with nothing but concern.

It was her _mother hen_ voice.

“Stop walk- _limping_ away from me!” The redhead screamed again, this time her voice growing louder.

_What the?_

“God dammit!” That sounded like Rae’s voice this time. Multiple pairs of feet could be heard by now, Ash’s combat boots alongside someone else’s slapping against the concrete walkway around the exterior of their base. A third sound met his ears as well, this one slower and met with the clanking of a wooden stick. “You stubborn fucker, will you just listen to me!? You shouldn’t be out of bed, you need rest!”

Feeling the need to investigate what was going on, Sykkuno set the rake back against the wall of the garden and made his way out the front gate. Weaving through the planters, he exited the garden and approached the steps to reach the walkway.

“Hey guys,” He started, looking down to dust the dirt from his hands onto his jeans. “What’s going o-”

His words suddenly died in his throat, the feeling of a lead brick tied to his tongue new when he looked up to meet a pair of warm brown eyes.

Eyes he hadn’t seen for weeks.

Eyes that were framed under dark inky curls and settled over a purple, teeth patterned bandana against pale, freckled skin.

The man did look worse for wear, that much was obvious. 

But he was up and walking.

With support of course. His arm that turned out to be broken was still in a cast and clutched closely to his chest, with his other arm used to support a homemade wooden walking crutch tucked into his armpit. He was leaning on it heavily for balance, the oversized black hoodie and baggy sweatpants he got on doing little to hide his skinnier and injured frame that was a result of being bed bound for at least the past month. 

Ash and Rae were bantered back and forth, following after him and easily keeping up as the young man was walking slowly and with a slight limp due to the injury of his torso. Sykkuno could see the wheelbarrow long and forgotten in the grass near the front of the base, with it not being of importance at the moment. 

“C-Corpse?” He finally managed to speak without a voice crack. “W-what the-”

“He won’t listen to me!” Rae practically squawked out, her face red and fist clenched in both anger and concern. “I go to check on him only to find him gone and walking around! He’s going to blow out his stitches and start bleeding again if he moves too much!”

Corpse simply shot the woman a glare over his shoulder.

“Don’t look at me like that!” She snapped quickly, walking up to jab a light finger at him. Their height difference made Corpse look down at her with tired, narrowed eyes. “I put to much damn effort into keeping you alive just for you to go and fuck it all up in a matter of minutes.”

The weight of her words settled heavily over everyone. 

It was true. 

Rae was pretty much tending to Corpse around the clock for the past month, changing his bandages daily, keeping him fed and hydrated, bathing him when need be. She took it upon herself to care for him to the best of her abilities, helping him get back to full strength. It was hard not to miss the heavy bags that started to appear of her eyes, or the lack of high energy she usually carried with her. 

To say she was stressed would have been an understatement.

But she is the main reason Corpse is alive and standing before them right now.

And it seemed like Rae was damn to make sure he remembered that.

The black-haired man blinked, looking at Rae with an unreadable expression before his stern eyes softened.

“I just want to talk to Sykkuno,” Corpse finally rasped out, voice quiet and heavy with exhaustion. “That’s all.” 

His response seemed to have caught them all off guard, for Rae’s eyes blinked dumbly at him. Her gaze shifted from one man to the other, and Sykkuno suddenly felt naked under her studying gaze.

He wasn’t sure if he should say anything, the heavy silent penetrating the air was something equivalent to awkward understanding. Rae’s sight left both men and turned towards Ash, who wore an expression similarly split between confusion and longing. Her blue orbs are shown with understanding, gently softening and meeting the other woman’s eyes with a gentle nod.

Rae sighed, rolling her eyes and looking back towards Corpse who was staring at her silently waiting.

“Alright,” She finally spoke. 

With the sudden acceptance Corpse turned towards him, and Sykkuno watched with a tightened heart as he struggled to make his way over to him with his limping and wheezing. Finally getting within arms length of the younger man made him make eye contact, forcing himself to look at his friend who, just weeks ago, was literally on death bed.

“Hi,” He was quiet when he spoke, eyes looking up at him through his dark curls. “Can we talk?”

The question directed at him was slightly unexpected, given he had just told Rae his intentions. But he knew none the less too much unsaid things were left between them.

His tongue still felt heavy in his mouth as he responded.

“Sure.”

* * *

The setting sun was rather beautiful.

It cast a warm glow of pinks, oranges and purples over the field, the tall and unkempt grass swaying with the gentle breeze. The clouds circulated around the sky in a ombre of colors, allowing the warm rays of gold to take away their naturally cool blue hue. 

The law chairs they settled themselves in creaked under their weight, their metal legs digging into the earth and creating some form of stability once they sat down. The younger man let out a harsh wheeze as his body collided with his chair, and Sykkuno couldn’t help but wince at the noise. 

It sounded painful.

But Corpse paid little to no mind on that, instead he regrouped and placed his crutch against the side of the chair so it would be out of the way. It was that moment he finally relaxed against the seat, leaning his head back with a deep breath and placing his unbroken arm across his torso gently. He didn’t close his eyes though, simply looking ahead at the setting sun.

Sykkuno watched as another gust of wind came through, rustling the grass once again and this time knocking down a wave of leaves from the nearby trees. The last of the leaves stuck to the branches falling and cascading to the ground below.

It truly was becoming winter.

The wind ran through them, causing their hair to blow over their eyes and clothing to ruffle around. Subconsciously Sykkuno wrapped his arms tightly around himself, shuffling his feet awkwardly against the ground while he sat in his chair. He was starting to wish he wore a heavier jacket.

Nonetheless, Corpse paid no mind to the cold. He remained calm and unmoving, his gaze simply looking out at the scenery before them.

“You know,” He started, his deep voice breaking the silence and catching the older man’s attention. “I didn’t think I would be around to see this again.”

The words caused Sykkuno’s chest to tighten painfully. “But you are.”

He didn’t know what else to say, what else he could use to reply that didn’t come across as more dumb. It seemed to be the right thing though, as Corpse finally broke his gaze to look at him.

“I am.” He said calmly, softly. 

All Sykkuno felt he could do was nod.

_What should he say?_

Normally talking to Corpse was so easy and effortless. They could talk about nothing and everything all at the same time for hours. This was his best friend, someone he knew he could rely on and vise versa, someone who knew him inside and out. Someone who he cared deeply for, someone who had been by his side for years.

And he had no idea what to say to him.

Why did it suddenly become so hard?

He honestly didn’t know.

The events of what went down at Sam’s base are still a fresh wound, and he isn’t sure if he should bring it up. Knowing that now he had blood on his hands, knowing he has officially taken a life, is something he is still trying to wrap his own head around. It was hard enough explaining the story back to the others through his frantic and hysteretic filled brain that was still full of adrenaline. 

Finally admitting to it, out loud, that he killed someone, _especially_ to the man that brought him to do so, is a completely different story. 

He didn’t even know where to start.

“Corpse,” He gently said his friend’s name, and he saw the dark-hair man turn towards him out of the corner of his eye. “I think we need to talk about what happened.”

Corpse simply hummed in agreement, nodding his head. “Yeah,”

“Rae said you are gonna be okay though, right?” He felt the need to start with someone more simple, something that could roll into the conversation more easily. The question must have caught Corpse off guard, for Sykkuno saw his eyes widen a little bit from behind his mask. 

“Oh,” He started, scratching the back of his neck with his good hand. “Yeah, I mean it still hurts like a bitch and I can’t do much. Like moving a lot or lifting heavy things will not be possible for a while, but she says I should be fine give or take a few more weeks.”

“That’s good.” He replied with genuine relief. “She’s good at those kinds of things.”

“Yeah, she’s a little crazy but she means well.”

The comment caused them both to chuckle a little, the sudden light hearted moment caused a swell of joy to bubble within Sykunno’s chest.

_How he missed this._

He knew it couldn’t last forever though, and his heart became heavy as he realized he felt partially to blame for what happened. Deep down, he knew it wasn’t his fault, but he couldn’t help it.

“I’m so sorry Corpse.”

The exclaimed caused the black-haired man’s head to whip towards him. “The fuck? What are you apologizing for?”

“I…” His voice turned quiet. “I don’t know.”

“None of this was your fault.”

“I know,”

“I probably would be a literal corpse if you hadn’t done what you did.”

“ _I know_ -” He paused. “Wait, what?”

“Sykkuno,” Corpse’s voice suddenly became much more serious as they made eye contact. “I know what you did back there.”

He felt his brain short circuit.

“W-What?”

  
“Ash and Jack told me. They told me how you held your own, what you did to protect us.”

“Sykkuno,” Corpse persisted. “You’re the reason I’m here, right now.”

Sykkuno could only stare at him with wide, unbelieving eyes.

“Thank you.”

He could feel his eyes tear up and he broke his gaze from Corpse to look down at his hands clenched painfully in his lap. 

_No._

_He shouldn’t be thanking him._

With a shake of his head he lifted his sleeve to wipe the tears threatening to fall from his eyes. “D-Don’t thank me.”

The words stunned Corpse into silence.

“P-Please don’t…” He choked. “I _killed_ them, Corpse. I-I shouldn’t be _thanked_ for that.”

Sykkuno looked back up to meet Corpse’s eyes, who was staring at him with a mix of conflicting emotions. But he remained silent to let him finish.

“I-I didn’t mean to do it. Honestly I didn’t...it just happened. I-it was me or them and I just started shooting and then before I knew it they were dead and-”

“Sykkuno.”

The sternness in the younger man’s voice made him pause. 

“I’m not praising you for what you did.” Corpse started slowly, cautiously. It seemed as though he was pondering how to word his thoughts in an effective way that wouldn’t upset the other man. “I’m simply praising how you were brave, how you stood your own ground.”

Sykkuno only responded with sniffles.

“You did what you did because you wanted to survive, to live.”

He knew the words were true, but it was still a tough pill to swallow.

“You have seen there is still good in this world.” Corpse grunted as he adjusted in his chair to a more comfortable position. “We all have, which is why you did it. I’m not saying it is a _good_ thing to do, it never is. But there is a reason we do it.”

“Because we want to live?”

Corpse hummed in reply, the sound enough of a confirmation to his question. “Its why we do almost everything we do, is it not?”

“I suppose so,” Sykkuno leaned back into his chair, wiping the last of his tears from his cheeks. “I’m still not proud of it.”

“I don’t expect you to be.” Corpse quickly said. “I do expect you to understand why you did it though, and it shouldn’t be something you hold over yourself. That shit’s annoying as hell.”

The cursing made Sykkuno chuckle a little, forcing a smile onto his face. “I know, I know.” 

A silence fell over them once again, but this time it was comforting. It felt as though all the tension and awkwardness that was radiating between the two of them was gone, and like both could breathe without the possibility of something slithering around to suffocate them.

“It’s getting dark,” He managed to get out. “We should probably go inside before Rae comes after us.”

Corpse laughed lightly. “Yeah I wouldn’t put it past her. Do you know what they're doing for dinner?”

“Well I know the pumpkins were good to harvest today, so Ash probably has those prepared with something.”

“That sounds good.” Corpse leaned over to grab his crutch and Sykkuno was quick to help him. The younger man was quick to refuse the help, his stubbornness making it difficult to assist him. Sykkuno won in the end though, slapping back at Corpse’s hand that was trying to shoo him away. 

Once they both got settled onto their feet, the two of them made their way back to the base, hearing the cheerful chatter and bantering going on inside. Their team was all socializing and talking, their joyful event centered around the roasted pork and freshly harvested veggies placed on their dining table. 

Sykkuno looked over to Corpse, and could see him smiling happily under his mask.

It made Sykkuno smile too, and for the first time since the Sam incident he knew.  
  


Everything was going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> I got asked a few times if I will be writing more and the answer is: I'm not sure. I would love too but life is rather busy and I can't promise consistent uploads if I do. So there is that.
> 
> Anyways, thanks to everyone who supported this story! I really appreciate it!


End file.
